Endemic species of subterranean fauna in Croatia

Podzemna fauna Hrvatske je iznimno značajan i vrijedan segment hrvatske i europske, ali i svjetske podzemne faune s vrlo velikim brojem endemičnih i reliktnih svojti. Analiza faune provedena početkom 21. stoljeća pokazala je da u Hrvatskoj živi oko 470 pravih špiljskih svojti, te da je iz 205 tipskih špiljskih lokaliteta opisano čak oko 340 svojti, redom endema Dinarida, od kojih gotovo 300 endema Hrvatske. S godinama se otkrivaju nove endemske i reliktne svojte i opisuju nove vrste za znanost. Zakonom o zaštiti prirode iz 1994. zaštićena su sva podzemna staništa i fauna. U ovom radu izložen je kratki pregled najvažnijih endemskih vrsta podzemne faune Hrvatske, razmatrani su razlozi njihove ugroženosti i značaj za bioraznolikost.Subterrenian fauna of Croatia is extremely significant and valuable part of croatian and europian, but also world subterrenian fauna with large number of endemic and relictic taxas. The analysis of fauna that has been conducted in the begining of 21. century has shown that in Croatia lives about 470 real cave taxas, and from 205 cave type localities it's been described about 340 taxas, seriatim endemic specias of Dinarids, from wich are nearly 300 endemic species of Croatia. With years the new endemic and relictic taxas are being discovered and new species for science are being described. All subterrenian habitats and fauna are protected by the Law of Nature Protection from 1994. In this work, a short review of the most important endemic species of subterrenian fauna of Croatia has been presented and the reasons of their vulnerability and their significance for biodiversity have been considered